Vehicle spending flat

Spending via electronic card transactions on motor vehicles dropped by 0.1 per cent in July when compared to June.

That represented a decline of $300,000, while such spending on fuel went down by $22 million and 4.3 per cent.

However, expenditure across retail industries rose by 1.3 per cent and $90m over the same period, reports Stats NZ. The biggest increase came in hospitality, which was up by $46m and 3.2 per cent.

The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories – services and other non-retail – rose by $94m and one per cent last month compared to June. 

Cardholders made 176 million transactions across all industries in July with an average value of $55. The total amount spent using electronic cards came in at $9.6 billion.